A major advance in the field of tissue culture and biological models has been the introduction of organotypic slice cultures. Organotypic slices are thin (micrometers) slices of an animal organ, which are cultured under conditions in which the slice retains the cellular composition, morphology, extracellular organization, and the physiological properties of the source organ, which presents a major advantage over using traditional in vitro cell culture methods. Organotypic slices have the advantage of being easier to use and manipulate than in vivo models such as rodents and primates. Moreover, organotypic cultures allow for the assessment of cellular, molecular, phenotypic, biochemical, and development characteristics, which enables, for example, the identification of factors that control neuronal adhesion, acquisition of cell-specific phenotypes, regulation of axonal and dendritic patterning, and development of tumor diseases. Organotypic slices may also be used to study cell migration, cell differentiation, cell-induced tissue injury repair, or even cell susceptibility to drugs.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.